If you're picking up an HTC First from HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) you have Facebook, Inc.'s (FB) new "Home" Android UI already preloaded. Otherwise, you may be able to install it today, as the app just went live.

The app is currently available (or will soon be available) for the:

Samsung Galaxy S4

Samsung Galaxy S3

Samsung Galaxy Note 2

HTC One

HTC One X/X+

Users with lower end Androids are out of luck for now, though Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg promised to bring the OS down the food chain as the months roll by.

The reskin has drawn some controversy as Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) corporate communications director has accused the Zuck of scooping the "phones designed around people first" slogan for Facebook First from Microsoft's 2011 era "Put People First" Windows Phone campaign.

We understand why Facebook would want to find a way to bring similar functionality to a platform that is sadly lacking it. But as Android owners know, that platform is complicated enough without adding another skin built around another metaphor, on top of what is already a custom variant of the OS.

Ouch. But Android -- the world's most used smartphone platform -- has fans aplenty. The ultimate test will be what they make of the new release.

Early reviews aren't looking great -- the app has 2 and 1/2 out of 5 stars. Comment reviewers:

Your phone loses all functionality with this. I had to remove it instantly so I could use my phone. Facebook fails again.

Limits phone functionality, awkward interface, just weird and pointless. No widgets, doesn’t show date and time, can’t easily and quickly access basic functions such as phone (duh I need to make calls), texting, and camera. Uninstalled after 5 minutes.

Very poorly put together. Most homes support widgets and clocks and this one limits you severely. The only thing this does is puts FB on the screen all the time.

Seeing as this is a custom launcher and launchers are just apps like anything else... this is indeed an app, not a skin. This does not simply change the looks of the device but it alters functionality.

Its a launcher which is closer to a skin than it is an application. It changes how the app drawer looks and the home screen looks which applications won't be able to do unless they modify the launcher, or are a launcher themselves. This is separate from the Chat Heads which are part of the Facebook Messenger application. I wish I could use Chat Heads for all my messaging applications and without using Facebook Messenger.

Anyways the OP was smoking something. At best the iOS people are making fun of Android for Facebook Home.

this sucks on very many levels. aside from the obvious privacy implications (FB is known for being a huge data collector, as are so many others, including google), the question i ask myself is this: why would i run an additional layer of software on top of my operating system?i currently use android 4.1, and it already has a facebook app that works fine. i can also share photos from the gallery to facebook. why exactly do i need FB home? there are no real uses for it. no new functionality. all it does is consume more RAM and CPU resources, and it collects my private data.

why would anyone outside of a FB-obsessed preteen cripple their phone with this excrement?

You already run a launcher on your phone, this is just a replacement for it. It is not an additional layer of software. I don't like this app either and wouldn't touch it, I'm just saying this so everyone has their facts straight is all.

This is ridiculous. Maybe it's time for facebook to come out with their own facebook device? The one that can't do anything else but use facebook. It seems to be very close to what they accomplished here.

I don't use facebook, so I am definitely not the target market, but even if I did, I can see wanting an app like that that takes over the whole UI. Its basically a launcher with an extreme de-emphasis on the word "launcher". It seems like a horrible idea to me, even if I lived and died on facebook.

"Can anyone tell me what MobileMe is supposed to do?... So why the f*** doesn't it do that?" -- Steve Jobs